(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a uniform cooling apparatus for a refrigerator and a control method thereof. More particularly, it relates to a uniform cooling apparatus for a refrigerator and a control method thereof, which install a plurality of temperature sensors into a refrigerating compartment, mount an air circulation fan in addition to a prior refrigerating compartment fan into the refrigerating compartment, and thus obtain a uniform cooling effect by minimizing a refrigerating compartment temperature deviation.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The following description relates to the prior art.
Firstly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,895 discloses a refrigerator having an air curtain fan for making an air curtain to block the invasion of the surrounding air. This refrigerator does not have a plurality of temperature sensors and another refrigerating compartment fan excepting the air curtain fan. The air curtain fan is driven when the refrigerating compartment door is opened, and is not related to a uniform cooling effect.
A conventional refrigerator will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a conventional refrigerator.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional refrigerator includes a main body 1, a compressor 30, a freezing compartment 10, a refrigerating compartment 20, a freezing compartment door 11, a refrigerating compartment door 21, a freezing compartment evaporator 13, a freezing compartment fan 14, a refrigerating compartment evaporator 23, a refrigerating compartment fan 24, a refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 27, and a freezing compartment temperature sensor 15.
In addition, a reference numeral 12 is a rear wall of the freezing compartment 20, and a reference numeral 25 is a duct 25 which separates the refrigerating compartment fan 24 and the refrigerating compartment evaporator 23 from a storage space of the refrigerating compartment 20, and induces a cool air flow. The reference numeral 26 is a cool air discharge hole 26 for discharging a cool air into the refrigerating compartment 26.
The above refrigerator will be operated as follows.
In a cooling operation of the refrigerating compartment 20, if a refrigerating compartment temperature sensed by the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 27 is higher than the refrigerating compartment set temperature, a compressor 30 and a refrigerating compartment fan 24 are driven to generate a cool air. The generated cool air passes through the refrigerating compartment fan 24, and is then provided into the inner space of the refrigerating compartment 20 via a discharge hole 26 provided on the duct 25. During cooling the refrigerating compartment 20, if the refrigerating compartment temperature is higher than the refrigerating compartment set temperature, the compressor 30 and the refrigerating compartment fan 24 are stopped to prevent over-cooling.
However, the conventional refrigerator attaches only one temperature sensor 27 into the refrigerating compartment 20, does not effectively control the inner temperature of the refrigerating compartment 20 having a wide inner space.
That is, the conventional refrigerator stops a cooling operation of the refrigerating compartment in case that the refrigerating compartment temperature sensed by the temperature sensor 27 is lower than the refrigerating compartment set temperature. At this time, since the refrigerating compartment temperature is sensed in front of the discharge hole 26, the refrigerating compartment temperature is generally lower than other refrigerating compartment temperature sensed at another portion.
However, although a refrigerating compartment temperature sensed at another portion excepting the vicinity of the refrigerating compartment temperature sensor 27 is not reached to the refrigerating compartment set temperature, the cooling operation of the refrigerating compartment stops on the basis of only one temperature sensed at one position, therefore the inside of the refrigerating compartment is not uniformly cooled. As a result, in case that the food far positioned from the cool air is stored for a long time, the food becomes quickly damaged as compared with another food nearby positioned the cool air.